Gilded Hearts

On that fateful day.

The prince took a sip of his wine and he swirled the liquid in the cup feeling escatic. He was so intoxicated.

He stood up, already feeling lightheaded. His words were slurred, unintelligible and barely making any sense. He stared at the lords who were present and erupted in sinister laughter. 

Taking a mere step and almost stumbling to the floor, his body felt weak and heavy, unable to even move. His guards immediately rushed to him and helped him back onto his throne.

 "Your Majesty, are you alright?" The prince's captain of the guard asked.

He lifted the young prince into his arms and took powerful strides towards the prince's chambers. Once inside he gently laid him on the bed.

Nigel had a concerned look on his face, he gently shook his head before he left the room.

On the other side of the kingdom.

That same night, the king had a nightmare, one that made him shake vigorously on his bed.

His body was sweating profusely and his brows were creased into almost thin lines as he let out soft growls.

He sat up abruptly, his eyes open and his heart pounding at a rapid pace.

"No. No. No. It can't be. My son. My kingdom"

He slid into his robes and in a minute he was out of his chambers.

``I can sense a bad omen,' his wolf informed.

*********************

Ariel woke up the next day to the already risen sun and a headache. The council had already assembled for a very important meeting and he hated to be disturbed both mentally and physically. Despite that, he took his tired body towards the meeting room, regardless of the fact that he was still in his nightwear.

"Where are they?" He asked.

The steward that has been sent to fetch him hesitated before he answered.

"In the throne room my prince".

A heavy sigh of frustration left his lips as he turned and made his way down to the throne room.

He sneered as he saw the subjects he had been dragged out of sleep to attend to.

He already felt repulsed by their poor and ragged appearance. He was surprised to see all the eight lords present, almost like they had been waiting for him.

The king was still alive, but he was critically ill.

The young prince was waiting for the death of his father so he could take his place but the old man didn't seem to want to die anytime soon. For now he had been sent to this small town to oversee some of the affairs his father had here, and so he had to get this done and over with before the permanent good health of his father. 

A smirk flashed across the prince's face when the lingering thought of having dominion over the people of Agaville came to his mind.

Ariel wanted to rule and be the man he always dreamt to be.

Ruthless and powerful.

He would put the people in their place. He despised the gentle and soft-hearted man his father was. 

With a smile, he turned to look at the man and the woman who were probably the reason the council had assembled this morning. They both wore similar clothes, gray colored and dirty, made out of cotton, their clothes were torn and there were specks of mud on them.

The woman seemed a little bit older than the man but both of them were old enough to disgust him.

Their appearance was pitiful, they looked disheveled and unkempt. Ariel almost gagged after a careful scrutiny of the two old people.

"What are two beggars doing here?" He asked, his tone disgusted.

"Your Majesty..." The old man spoke while fidgeting with his dress, he folded his hand into a tight fist, almost scared to speak.

"Speak or leave" the prince commanded, his voice harsh yet commanding.

"I'm sorry your highness, but we have come here to plead on our village's behalf, the small village of Agraman...". 

A flash of recognition crossed the prince's face and he leaned back to speak to the steward.

"Is this about that village I want to build a brothel in?"

The prince's steward nodded. Ariel smiled and looked at the older people.

"Then you better keep your lips sealed because I have plans for that village other than your useless rural lives".

The old man paled.

 "Your Majesty, please don't do this to us, that's the only land we have, we have nowhere to go and your soldiers have come to create havoc, killing our sons, our daughters, and livestock. We won't be able to live at this rate." the man stated in desperation.

Ariel was unfazed by the older man's pleas. He had already made a decision and his decision was final. He couldn't care less about the lives of those people, the only thing that he wanted at the moment was to have the village for his benefit.

Lord Quintus, one of the eight lords in attendance, felt a huge lump in his throat when he noticed the desperate pleas of the two people. He wished he could change the situation at the moment and make the prince change his mind.

He knew he couldn't, but he could at least try.

"If I may speak your Majesty, can you please give the people the grace of having their land back, i can find a...."?

"No more words, Lord Quintus, your suggestion is not needed, let his highness do as he pleases"

Without bothering about what the opposing lord was saying, The honey haired Lord turned towards the prince in an attempt to change his mind.

"Your Majesty, you really have to reconsider the well-being of the people, they need your help..."

The prince shot him a look.

"No more Lord Quintus, you need to keep your mouth shut; your suggestion is not needed"

Ariel turned to look at the two people who were at his mercy before he delivered his verdict with a commanding tone. It was full of power and anger.

"I'll advise you to leave, and leave those lands, I'm giving you the opportunity today. If you don't leave, I'll be left with no other option but to do it the hard way".

"Your Majesty. We can't live like this!!!".

The pain in the woman's voice was evident but yet all the men in the room looked mildly disconcerted.

The prince looked outright enraged. Women are not allowed to speak in the courtroom, especially in the presence of royalty. For her to have uttered a word in his presence, that was an act punishable by law.

Ariel seethed as the old woman stood up confidently from her kneeling position.

She stared at him directly in his eyes, anger evident in hers and her eyes assumed a glowing shade of red.

She was furious, it was clear enough. Her eyes were full of killing intent.

"You are not the King yet, you're but a prince, and for you to have made such a decision..."

"Guards!!!"

Immediately a set of guards came in, but before they could even reach the old lady, they felt an unknown power crushing their insides. They all stumbled back.

Some of them spat out blood and the rest passed out.

The wolf in the minds of all gathered in the courtroom whimpered.

Most of the lords and some of the guards still conscious felt an eery feeling running down their spines.

The prince was now frightened and everyone in the courtroom was terrified.

The old woman stared at all of them and at the wicked prince.

She could not stop the tears that fell out of her eyes. She didn't want to do this but the prince had forced her hand. 

"For you have chosen to tread the wrong path young prince, this is your curse" she stopped talking and removed a dagger from the side of her dress so she could slice through her wrist. The blood trickled down to the ground before she looked at the prince and shook her full head of gray hair.

"You shall live alone in this castle, this building will be a place of nothing but torture to you, you will feel nothing but sadness, living will feel like a burden. Worst of all, you will be damned, you will lose your beauty and be left alone like a monster, no one will admire you or look up to you. We have begged and begged but yet your heart is set in stone. There should be no mercy for someone like you, but yet.........".

Her words rang out with undisputed power and she stopped talking before she turned to glance at the honey haired Lord. He stood stiff and terrified.

"Because of the kindness of this lord, i shall grant you this respite"

She looked at the rose embroidered on Lord Quintus's vest.

"Only a rejected rose and a suffering heart can free you of this curse. This curse shall stand till the end of time, no power on earth will be able to break it."

In a flash she was at the prince's side, and her bloodied palm was on his face.

Cursed with the blood of a witch and bound to the earth until the curse was broken.

Ariel felt something shatter in him. The screams that left his mouth were nothing short of unnatural.

He screamed as his bones cracked violently and his skin tore.

The pain ripped through him from the inside and he watched as his lords shrank back, terror in their eyes.

A new voice rippled in his head, and for once, for once in his life, he knew what it was to tru;y be afraid.

The prince shifted, not into his sleek black wolf, but into a grey haired and bleary eyed monster.

He was now the cursed prince.